"Perhaps most ridiculous of all is the suggestion that we 'keep' our radioactive garbage for the use of our descendants. This 'solution', I think, requires an immediate poll of the next 20,000 generations"

This quote by David R. Brower is a criticism of the suggestion that we must store our radioactive waste for future generations. He believes that this is a ludicrous idea which it need to not be considered a viable solution. He suggests that the only method to genuinely evaluate the opinion of future generations is to survey the next 20,000 generations. This indicates that the impacts of radioactive waste will be felt for numerous generations to come which it is not something that can be easily forgotten or ignored. He is suggesting that we should take responsibility for our actions now and not leave the problem of handling our waste to future generations.